What are the Characteristics of a fairy tale?A fairy tale is a type of story in which a hero goes on a quest for self knowledge, in other words: the hero's journey. This means fairy tales have al the standard characteristics of any hero's journey: a quester, a place to quest, challenges along the way, a stated reason to quest, an uncomfortable home to quest from, a special object earned whilst on the quest, etc. Although, not all hero's journeys are fairy tales. A fairy tale is a special type of hero's journey story which is usually very old and passed down for many years through the generations. Fair tales are usually retold many times, each time slightly different than the rest but always based off the same hero, their journey, and the lesson which they learn on that journey. Fair tales often contain an element of magical powers. Examples of this magic include dragons, wizards, fairy godmothers, etc. Fairy tales are often designed to teach readers, specifically children, a lesson in life, which explains their passing through the generations and use for bedtime stories. Fair tales teach this lesson using a fault in the hero. Most commonly the quester sets out with a fatal flaw the learn to correct by the end of the story. They learn to fix this flaw through a combination of mistakes, challenges, and wise mentors. In the process of the hero learning how to fix their flaw, the reader learns the same lesson about their own personal flaws.
